Russia Awaiting President Trump's Response To New START Offers

Deputy Foreign Minister Rusi Sergei Ryabkov. (Twitter/@mfa_russia)

JAKARTA - Russia is waiting for a response from United States President Donald Trump on the proposal of President Vladimir Putin regarding the New Strategic Arms Reduction Agreement (New START), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.

"Despite the brief but positive comments from the official White House spokesman, there has been no reaction in the public sphere. However, personally, we feel that America is trying to better understand Russia's position," he told TASS as quoted October 2.

"However, overall, I do not expect them to respond in detail. Since the statement was made by the president, I think we have the right to expect a presidential response from Washington," he continued.

"However, it is clear to me that this initiative creates a new situation for America, which is obsessed with fighting what is called their strategic rivals. It includes not only Russia but also China. We will see practical conclusions as to what they are withdrawing from this initiative," said Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov.

The senior diplomat referred to the Russian President's statement about the New START Treaty.

"It is not a coincidence that President Putin's statement states we have announced our decision to comply with the core quantitative limits of New START, which we have postponed for a year. However, this relies on the United States not taking steps that will distort existing strategic balances," he explained.

"This means not only building their strategic offensive weapons but also creating relations that disrupt stability in the global missile defense system as part of the 'US Golden Dome' program, for example. They need to think about this very seriously," said Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov.

President Putin said on September 22 at a Security Council meeting that Russia was ready to comply with these restrictions for one year after the agreement ended in February 2026.

However, President Putin stressed this was only possible if Washington did the same.

Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was waiting for Washington's response to President Putin's proposal.

"We are waiting for a response," he said.